Finding Clients

Lawyer Search
The Lawyer Search service is designed to link lawyers who are accepting new clients with clients in need of services. In the Members Only section of the website, lawyers may set preferences for the Lawyer Search application, which allows potential clients to search for a lawyer by city, zip code, county, language needs and areas of practice.

Lawyer Search FAQWhat is Lawyer Search?
Lawyer Search permits members of the public to search for Missouri lawyers accepting new clients based on name, city, county, zip code, and areas of the law in which the lawyer will accept employment. Missouri Bar members may opt in this directory by logging on to the Members section of The Missouri Bar website and selecting "Edit Lawyer Search Preferences." The member may then select multiple areas of practice in up to five counties as well as language proficiencies.

What is the cost to sign up for Lawyer Search?
Although many lawyers pay monthly fees to have their names and practice areas listed on commercial "find-a-lawyer" sites, The Missouri Bar offers this service to members free-of-charge as a member benefit.

What is included in your "full listing" on Lawyer Search?
Members choosing to use the Lawyer Search service determine exactly how much and what information is provided to the public by making the appropriate selections on Edit Lawyer Search Preferences under the Members section of the website including (if you choose) complete address, telephone number, fax number plus email address and link to their website that can be hot linked directly from their Lawyer Search listing.

In what order are lawyers listed on Lawyer Search when a member of the public does a search?
Based on the search criteria specified by a member of the public doing the search, a randomized list of lawyers meeting that criteria is generated and displayed.

What information can I include on my website link?
The information on your website is bound by the advertising rules found with the Rules of Professional Conduct, regardless of whether the public is led to your site by a link from The Missouri Bar or they find it on their own.Click here to see how it works for the public!

IMPORTANT NOTICE: According to the Supreme Court Rule 4-9.1, Lawyer Referral and Information Services, (e) A qualified service must be open to all lawyers licensed to practice in this state who: (1) maintain an office within the geographical area served.

If your office or firm is geographically located in St. Louis City or St. Louis County, or Springfield, MO or in Greene County, you are NOT eligible to become a member of The Missouri Bar Lawyer Referral Service. Those areas are served by The St. Louis Metro Bar Lawyer Referral Service and The Springfield Metro Bar Lawyer Referral Service.

Your Next Client Could Be an LRS Referral

As a member of The Missouri Bar Lawyer Referral Service, you'll enjoy receiving potential clients who already have been screened by Missouri Bar staff. Screening ensures that those people who have problems that can't be solved within the legal system are steered toward other resources. Not only will you receive potential clients in need of legal help, but you can be assured that anyone referred to you will have the type of legal problem that you have indicated as fitting within your practice areas.

You won't be wasting your time or your paralegal's listening to people who need help but who don't need legal help. Join The Missouri Bar Lawyer Referral Service and you can look forward to being part of an efficient service that benefits the public and Missouri Bar members.

Who Calls The Missouri Bar Lawyer Referral Service?

Many people have had no experience with lawyers and the courts. Even if they have, they may be uncomfortable calling different lawyers to find one who can solve their legal problem. When stressed by a legal problem, many people don't have the patience to spend time searching for just the right lawyer. People like these are among the hundreds who call the bar's Lawyer Referral Service each week. They may have read one of the Lawyer Referral Service's ads in their local Yellow Pages or a friend or attorney may have told them about this resource. They also find us online or at our website.

Other lawyers frequently refer clients to the bar's Lawyer Referral Service. After an initial interview, an attorney may determine that a potential client's needs can't be met by their practice. Or an existing client may have a new problem in an area in which the attorney isn't prepared to add to their practice. Additionally, the bar's Lawyer Referral Service gets requests for help from out-of-state callers who have been referred by bar associations throughout the U.S. and who need a Missouri lawyer to handle their problem.

The Missouri Bar Lawyer Referral Service links clients to lawyers throughout Missouri, except for St. Louis City and St. Louis County, and Springfield (Greene County). In those areas, people needing attorneys rely on the local bar association lawyer referral service.

How The Missouri Bar Lawyer Referral Service Works

After being screened, prospective clients are given the name of one member attorney who practices in their community and whose practice areas coincide with the caller's legal need. Attorney names are rotated from the top of the list to the bottom, insuring that all lawyers in a community who have similar practice areas receive calls on a rotating basis.

Member attorneys agree to provide an up to 30-minute consultation to the prospective client for free.

The client is charged a $50 fee for the referral, payable to the bar's Referral Service. (The fee helps cover some of the costs associated with providing this service). We ask that the lawyer collect the $50 fee at the time of the consultation, then forward it, along with any other recently collected referral fees to The Missouri Bar. Clients who call the referral service can now pay the $50 fee by using a debit or credit card.

Additionally, if the fee generated from the referral is $200 or more, the bar charges the attorney ten percent of the total fee collected.

There is no fee to join the service. Group membership is not available. Membership is open to individual attorneys only.

What Are You Agreeing to When You Complete The Application Form?

To provide a free initial consultation to the client – up to 30 minutes.

To collect and forward to the bar the $50 referral fee from the client.

To submit to the bar 10 percent of total fees of $200 or more.

To carry professional liability insurance of not less than $100,000/300,000 and maintain the policy throughout the period of participation in the service.

To schedule appointments for referred clients in a timely manner.

To "abide by the rules of the service and in no event hold, or claim to hold, the association or any of its officers, members or employees liable in connection with the operation of, or use of the information contained in the application in connection with the activities of the service."

If I am associated with a law firm, I agree that I am authorized by my law firm to seek membership in The Missouri Bar Lawyer Referral Service (“the Service”) and to bind my law firm to the rules of the Service. I and my law firm agree to be bound by the rules of the Service, including the requirement that any fees earned by my firm for a client referred to me or my law firm by the Service must be shared with the Service under those rules. Should my law firm association change, I will promptly notify the Service which attorney or law firm will continue to represent any clients referred to me or my law firm by the Service. Such a change will not alter my duty to share in any fees earned from the referred client.

Rules of The Lawyer Referral Service

Any applicant may be denied registration and any registered lawyer may be withdrawn from registration if he/she has:

Willfully failed to pay any fee or render any report required by the service or otherwise abide by its rules.

Signed any application or other certification or report to the service which shall be found to be untrue in any material respect.

The Lawyer Referral Service Committee, by majority vote, will have the authority to examine a prospective panel member's application to determine a panel member's eligibility, continued eligibility, and to adjust panel membership when necessary. The Lawyer Referral Service Committee, by majority vote, shall have the authority to deny, or suspend, or terminate a panel member, in case of emergencies, or at any time for good cause, to protect the public and The Missouri Bar. The Lawyer Referral Service Committee, by majority vote, shall determine if a prospective or current panel member's LRS membership should be denied, or suspended, or terminated, and the following process should occur:

Reasons for denial, or suspension, or termination, shall be conveyed to the member in writing.

Any attorney who has been denied membership, or suspended, or terminated, shall be offered the opportunity to make a written response to The Lawyer Referral Service Committee for review.

Upon review, The Lawyer Referral Service Committee members, by majority vote, shall determine if the matter requires any further action or no further action.

The Lawyer Referral Service Committee members, by majority vote, shall advise the panel member in writing, of its decision.

The Lawyer Referral Service Committee members, by majority vote, may forward information regarding the basis for denial, or suspension, or termination, to The Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel in writing.

A member, in filing his/her application as provided, agrees that:

He/she will grant an initial consultation, without charge, provided the initial consultation does not exceed one-half hour. The member shall collect the administrative charge of $50 remitted to the service for operational expenses. If the initial consultation is by telephone, the attorney will notify the service so the service can collect the $50 administrative fee.

If after the initial consultation, the attorney decides that he/she will not take the case, the client will be returned to the LRS for further referral. An attorney who decides not to take a case may not refer the client to another attorney without express permission from the LRS.

Any charge for further service will be agreed upon with the client and with the attorney in keeping with the stated objectives of the service.

The member carries, and will continue to carry, professional liability insurance of not less than $100,000/$300,000 throughout participation.

The member will grant potential clients who are referred an appointment as soon as practicable after a request is made.

The member will in no event hold, or claim to hold, the association or any of its officers, members or employees liable in connection with the operation of, or use of, the information contained in the application in connection with the activities of the service.

The member will remit to the Missouri Lawyer Referral Service a referral fee of 10 percent of fees collected on lawyer referral service cases generating fees of $200.00 or more. The member will not increase the fee to compensate for the 10% referral fee the member must remit to the Missouri Lawyer Referral Service.

The member agrees that the LRS staff person who receives a request for referral which the attorney accepts is acting as his/her employee or agent and shall be bound by the attorney-client privileged communication role regarding any information which is communicated to such person during the process of referral.

The member represents to the referral service that he/she is licensed to practice in Missouri and will abide by all the rules and regulations of The Missouri Bar Lawyer Referral Service.

How to Join

First, read through the Rules of the Lawyer Referral Service above. Then if you agree with the terms, fill out the online application. Or you may download and complete the form and return it to: Missouri Lawyer Referral Service, PO Box 119, Jefferson City, MO. 65102.

If you have any questions about the Missouri Bar Lawyer Referral Service, call (573) 636-3635.

Official Directory of Missouri Lawyers
The Official Missouri Directory of Lawyers lists every lawyer in Missouri who is in good standing with the Supreme Court of Missouri. However, this directory does not provide contact information, nor do the listings indicate whether a particular lawyer is accepting new clients. Use this directory if you want to check a lawyer’s standing. Inactive lawyers are also listed. Inactive lawyers are in good standing with the Supreme Court of Missouri but are not eligible to practice law in Missouri.

Official Directory FAQWhat is the Official Missouri Directory of Lawyers?
The Official Missouri Directory of Lawyers is a service that allows members of the public the ability to access The Missouri Bar's website to verify that someone is a member of The Missouri Bar.

This listing includes all lawyers admitted to practice by the Supreme Court of Missouri who are in good standing. Inactive lawyers who are in good standing with the Supreme Court of Missouri but are not eligible to practice law in Missouri are also listed. Your name is included automatically; no action on your part is required to include your name on the listing. If the Supreme Court changes the status of a lawyer to anything other than "Good Standing," the lawyer´s information disappears immediately from the Official Missouri Directory of Lawyers. For example, lawyers who do not pay their dues in a timely manner will have their status changed to "Not in Good Standing" by the Supreme Court and remain that way until the dues are paid. During that period, the lawyer will not appear within the Official Missouri Directory of Lawyers.

Information available to the public through the Official Missouri Directory of Lawyers is limited to name, bar number, date of admission, and the city, state and zip code listed in each lawyer's "official address" within The Missouri Bar's membership database.

The Official Missouri Directory of Lawyers does not include any additional identifying information, such as street address or telephone number. (Lawyers who wish to provide the public with additional information should sign up for LawyerSearch).

What is meant by the term "Official Address"?
By rule of the Supreme Court of Missouri, each member of The Missouri Bar is required to provide an official address. This address is public information, meaning that any member of the public who calls the offices of the Supreme Court or The Missouri Bar will have access to this complete address as provided by the member. Thus, lawyers should not provide an "official address" that they do not wish to be made public.

Careful consideration should be given to the selection of one´s official address. For example, if a prosecuting attorney decides that he or she wishes to receive bar publications at home rather than at an office, it may seem convenient to list a home address as the official address. However, it is important to remember that this address - as one´s "official address" - is available to the public, including prisoners.

To avoid this sort of situation, a lawyer may wish to list his or her office address as their official address, then edit their personal profile on the "members only" portion of The Missouri Bar´s website to direct that all state bar publications be sent to their home address.

What is the official address used for?

A member's official address is the location to which your annual dues statement will be sent by the Supreme Court.

It is provided to anyone who calls The Missouri Bar or the Supreme Court.

It is available to all other lawyers who search the bar's online directory in the members-only section of the bar's website.

An abbreviated listing of the official address is included in the Official Missouri Directory of Lawyers. This abbreviated listing contains only the name, city, state, and zip code contained in each member´s official address.

Is there a charge associated with this service?
No. This is a free service provided to the public and all members of The Missouri Bar who are in good standing.

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